I'm not sure what to call this post - a rant, a critique, a non-sensical rambling? I don't know. So for now I'm just going to call it "stuff that bugs me." From time to time, I drive past one of the local churches, as I make my way to the Family Fare grocery story, with a signboard out front (someone might call it a "marquee", but for our purposes "signboard will suffice). And today this church wanted to let me know something really special which I'd like to share with all of you (the whole 5 of you that actually read my blog - thanks Mom and Dad and to the three others who venture here from time to time!) is...
If you think your life stinks, we have a pew for you!
Now doesn't that just crack you up? I mean really. Please, tell me the truth. Would you honesly walk in the doors of a church that has a sign out front that says If think your life stinks, we have a pew for you!? Would you? And so here you have it - item #1 that bugs me - cheesy church signboards. This is a difficult thing for me to say because I am a pastor. But let's be honest - cheesy church boardsigns have to go!
If your church is going to have a signboard out front, here are some guidelines for what to put on your sign:
1) You may have your church name and worship time(s).
2) You may advertise special upcoming events.
3) You may put your pastor's name on the sign (but this is highly debatable and borders on cheesy).
4) You may not put cheesy, cliche, or outdated witty-isms on your sign (unless you're making fun of your own church - but why would you do that?).
There you have it - four simple guidelines for having a church signboard. As I look over the guidelines, it hardly seems worth it to even have a signboard at all. I don't know. What do you think?
What's the cheesiest church signboard witty saying you've ever seen? And when you saw it, what did you think?
Monday, February 28, 2011
Thursday, February 10, 2011
sermon thoughts :: exodus 19 & 20
So this Sunday I have the privilege of preaching at Compass Church on the Ten Commandments (the Exodus 20 version) as a part of our current series entitled: Roots. The Roots series is the beginning of a year-long journey of preaching through the Bible. Fifty-two Sundays...fifty-two messages from Genesis to Revelation. I think the best part of this whole experience is that we as pastors (and as a church), are working cooperatively with about a dozen other pastors and churches (including Wesleyan, Reformed, Christian Reformed, Methodist, Bible, Non-denominational, and Baptist) in the Byron area through the One Book One Body initiative which basically means we're studying and preaching through the same texts at the same time. How cool is that?! I've never been a part of such an ecumencial endeavor like this before and it truly is exciting to participate in something so much bigger than just our local church body.
So there's my plug for Compass and the One Book One Body initiative. Back to getting some sermon thoughts and ideas out on the Ten Commandments. But before I do that, I must digress for a moment...let's call the Ten Commandments what they truly are in light of what Scripture says. No where in the Book of Exodus are the Ten Commandments called the "Ten Commandments." That's something someone made up along the way. I think the mislabeling also leads to some false conclusions about who God is and how God relates to His people. So, let's call Exodus 20.1-17 what it really is: the "Ten Words," which comes from Exodus 34.28.
To be sure, the Ten Words given by God to the Israelite community at Mount Sinai is fascinating, but what I'm more interested in thinking about today is the movement within the text both before and after they receive the Words because I think there's something peculiar going on. If we look at this text from a dramatic standpoint, we have characters, dialogue, rising action, a central conflict, and a resolution. Most biblical dramas have all these elements. Also, all biblical narratives center around God. The conflict that arises in biblical narratives also centers around God.
Prelude
For 400 years, the people of Israel were slaves in Egypt. According to the biblical account, the Hebrew slaves worked on the construction of the city of Rameses. For generations, the Hebrews served Pharaoh. Eventually they became fruitful and numerous much to chagrin of Pharaoh who made multiple attempts to squash the proliferation of their offspring. First they were subject to forced labor. Then the forced labor became outright slavery. After that, Pharaoh secretly met with the Hebrew midwives in an attempt to murder newborn boys. And finally, there was a public attempt to do the same. Generation upon generation experienced this hardship and oppression. They experienced rejection and humiliation. They endured beatings and insults. Life was bitter and harsh, but for them it was all they knew. It was all they had ever known.
After Pharaoh released the Israelites, God led them by a pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night until they reached the Sea of Reeds. You know how the rest of this story goes, so let's skip past all the complaining they do about the menu and pick up in chapter 19.
Scene 1 :: Arrival at Sinai
The text says that they came to the wilderness of Sinai. At this time about three months have passed since their release from Egypt. Moses ascends the mountain and God said to him: "You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples. Indeed, the whole earth is mine, but you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation." It's here we see God's intent for delivering them from their slavery and oppression - to turn them into a priestly kingdom set apart for his purposes - to be mediators between God and all the nations (thus fulfilling God's promises to Abraham in Genesis 12).
So Moses tells the people and their response is very interesting. They said with enthusiasm: "Everything that the LORD has spoken we will do." Really? Everything? At this point neither the Ten Words or the Torah has been given. That comes in the next chapter.
Verse 17 says: "Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God. They took their stand at the foot of the mountain." By the end of chapter 19, it's as if the Israelites are all standing and waiting at the base of the mountain while this spectacular show of smoke and fire and thunder and lightening is taking place all around them. Astounded I'm sure, they are as close to God as they can faithfully get at this point, and as if that weren't enough...God speaks directly to them.
Scene 2 :: God Speaks
Moses is at the base of the mountain when the LORD spoke the Ten Words for all to hear. Just to jog our memory here they are: 1) No other gods. 2) No idols. 3) Do not misuse the LORD's name. 4) Keep the Sabbath. 5) Honor your parents. 6) Do not murder. 7) Do not commit adultery. 8) Do not steal. 9) Do not give false testimony. 10) Do not covet.
Scene 3 :: The Response
Notice in verse 21 that after God gives the Ten Words, the text says: "Then the people stood at a distance, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was." The Israelites were standing at the foot of the mountain, close to the presence of God. Now they see with their eyes and hear with their ears from the One who brought them out from the yoke of slavery, and they back away. Does this story remind you of someone else who was in the presence of God and backed away (or tried to run away). That's right - Jonah. The reality of the situation the Israelites found themselves in is the same for us today. We are brought near to God by His grace for the purposes of being His priests to the entire world...for the purposes of being his mediators...for the purposes of being conduits of grace to others. This is not only an awesome responsibility but a terrifying one as well because it means that while we enjoy the blessings of being in the grace of God, we must at the same time surrender ourselves to his purposes. We must obey His voice and keep His covenant - not our own.
Scene 4 :: Postlude
Fear and desire are two of the greatest motivators for change. I'm confident the Israelites were responding to what they just experienced out of fear and desire...desire to experience the freedom - the likes of which none of them had before; and fear of being the presence of the Holy One. I like this quote from Ann Spangler, who writes about women in the Bible. She says: "The antidote to fear is always trust. Only faith can cure our worst nightmares and faith is a gift that is either fed by our obedience or starved by our disobedience."
Bottom line: God's not done with you yet. Just as He continually and relentlessly pursued His people in order to make them a priestly kingdom, He's not content with leaving you as you are. The God of the Bible is not a God of the "status quo." He will lovingly pursue you and once He has you, He will always be working on and in and through you because you are one of His treasured possessions.
So there's my plug for Compass and the One Book One Body initiative. Back to getting some sermon thoughts and ideas out on the Ten Commandments. But before I do that, I must digress for a moment...let's call the Ten Commandments what they truly are in light of what Scripture says. No where in the Book of Exodus are the Ten Commandments called the "Ten Commandments." That's something someone made up along the way. I think the mislabeling also leads to some false conclusions about who God is and how God relates to His people. So, let's call Exodus 20.1-17 what it really is: the "Ten Words," which comes from Exodus 34.28.
To be sure, the Ten Words given by God to the Israelite community at Mount Sinai is fascinating, but what I'm more interested in thinking about today is the movement within the text both before and after they receive the Words because I think there's something peculiar going on. If we look at this text from a dramatic standpoint, we have characters, dialogue, rising action, a central conflict, and a resolution. Most biblical dramas have all these elements. Also, all biblical narratives center around God. The conflict that arises in biblical narratives also centers around God.
Prelude
For 400 years, the people of Israel were slaves in Egypt. According to the biblical account, the Hebrew slaves worked on the construction of the city of Rameses. For generations, the Hebrews served Pharaoh. Eventually they became fruitful and numerous much to chagrin of Pharaoh who made multiple attempts to squash the proliferation of their offspring. First they were subject to forced labor. Then the forced labor became outright slavery. After that, Pharaoh secretly met with the Hebrew midwives in an attempt to murder newborn boys. And finally, there was a public attempt to do the same. Generation upon generation experienced this hardship and oppression. They experienced rejection and humiliation. They endured beatings and insults. Life was bitter and harsh, but for them it was all they knew. It was all they had ever known.
After Pharaoh released the Israelites, God led them by a pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night until they reached the Sea of Reeds. You know how the rest of this story goes, so let's skip past all the complaining they do about the menu and pick up in chapter 19.
Scene 1 :: Arrival at Sinai
The text says that they came to the wilderness of Sinai. At this time about three months have passed since their release from Egypt. Moses ascends the mountain and God said to him: "You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples. Indeed, the whole earth is mine, but you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation." It's here we see God's intent for delivering them from their slavery and oppression - to turn them into a priestly kingdom set apart for his purposes - to be mediators between God and all the nations (thus fulfilling God's promises to Abraham in Genesis 12).
So Moses tells the people and their response is very interesting. They said with enthusiasm: "Everything that the LORD has spoken we will do." Really? Everything? At this point neither the Ten Words or the Torah has been given. That comes in the next chapter.
Verse 17 says: "Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God. They took their stand at the foot of the mountain." By the end of chapter 19, it's as if the Israelites are all standing and waiting at the base of the mountain while this spectacular show of smoke and fire and thunder and lightening is taking place all around them. Astounded I'm sure, they are as close to God as they can faithfully get at this point, and as if that weren't enough...God speaks directly to them.
Scene 2 :: God Speaks
Moses is at the base of the mountain when the LORD spoke the Ten Words for all to hear. Just to jog our memory here they are: 1) No other gods. 2) No idols. 3) Do not misuse the LORD's name. 4) Keep the Sabbath. 5) Honor your parents. 6) Do not murder. 7) Do not commit adultery. 8) Do not steal. 9) Do not give false testimony. 10) Do not covet.
Scene 3 :: The Response
Notice in verse 21 that after God gives the Ten Words, the text says: "Then the people stood at a distance, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was." The Israelites were standing at the foot of the mountain, close to the presence of God. Now they see with their eyes and hear with their ears from the One who brought them out from the yoke of slavery, and they back away. Does this story remind you of someone else who was in the presence of God and backed away (or tried to run away). That's right - Jonah. The reality of the situation the Israelites found themselves in is the same for us today. We are brought near to God by His grace for the purposes of being His priests to the entire world...for the purposes of being his mediators...for the purposes of being conduits of grace to others. This is not only an awesome responsibility but a terrifying one as well because it means that while we enjoy the blessings of being in the grace of God, we must at the same time surrender ourselves to his purposes. We must obey His voice and keep His covenant - not our own.
Scene 4 :: Postlude
Fear and desire are two of the greatest motivators for change. I'm confident the Israelites were responding to what they just experienced out of fear and desire...desire to experience the freedom - the likes of which none of them had before; and fear of being the presence of the Holy One. I like this quote from Ann Spangler, who writes about women in the Bible. She says: "The antidote to fear is always trust. Only faith can cure our worst nightmares and faith is a gift that is either fed by our obedience or starved by our disobedience."
Bottom line: God's not done with you yet. Just as He continually and relentlessly pursued His people in order to make them a priestly kingdom, He's not content with leaving you as you are. The God of the Bible is not a God of the "status quo." He will lovingly pursue you and once He has you, He will always be working on and in and through you because you are one of His treasured possessions.
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